November 2016
Serving Highland Beach and Coastal Boca Raton
Along the Coast
LIVING ON THE COAST comes with a potential FLOOD WARNING
Travel relief: South Florida projects set for completion
Volume 9 Issue 11
Boca Raton
Roadwork to wrap as Brightline comes onboard and airports upgrade
Firefighters take sides in Nov. 8 Beach & Park District runoff
By Mary Hladky
By Steve Plunkett
If there’s one constant in South Florida, it’s the neverending hassle to get from Point A to Point B. Woefully inadequate public transit forces people to remain behind the wheels of their cars. All those cars clog roads and highways. An accident can bring Interstate 95 to a standstill for hours. Road construction intended to make things better brings with it detours and delays. But 2017 is expected to usher in the completion of some major projects that will bring some relief. No cure-all, mind you. Enough, though, to ease the burden a bit — until the next major disruption comes along. Mark your calendars for a big one. Construction of I-95 express lanes will extend into Palm Beach County in 2018, as existing HOV lanes are converted into two express lanes in each direction. While the project will move into the southern part of the county that year, most of the work — from just south of Glades Road to Linton Boulevard — is scheduled to launch in 2020. Drivers using the lanes will pay a toll using SunPass, with the amount varying depending on how congested the express lanes are. Toll amounts for Palm Beach County have not yet been announced. For those commuters who want nothing more than to never venture onto I-95 again, All Aboard Florida’s Brightline is promising to begin train service next See TRANSPORT on page 22
The race to fill two seats on the Greater Boca Raton Beach & Park District Commission now pits municipal firefighters against their county brethren. Local 2928 of the International Association of Fire Fighters, which represents firefighter/paramedics employed by Palm Beach County, endorsed incumbents Dennis Frisch and Earl Starkoff in October and gave $1,000 to each of their campaigns. The money comes as Boca Raton firefighters and their union have poured hundreds of dollars into the war chests of challengers Erin Wright and Craig Ehrnst since the candidates began filing campaign finance reports in July. Ehrnst and Wright also each received $500 from Flagler Alerts, the political arm of West Palm Beach’s firefighters union. Wright also got $1,000 from Florida Fire PAC, the political committee of the Florida Professional Firefighters union. That group lobbies Tallahassee for 175 fire-rescue departments across the state, including Boca Raton, West Palm Beach and Palm Beach County. The motives of the city firefighters were mostly an unanswered question at an Aug. 11 debate sponsored by the BocaWatch citizen watchdog group, which has since endorsed the incumbents. “As you look throughout the state, firefighters have family members, people close to them — it’s important to be involved in politics. It’s very important to have people who support you in politics,” said Wright, whose husband, Steven, is a city firefighter. Ehrnst said the city firefighters asked him to run. See ELECTION on page 14
Sara Wilkinson, visiting her old neighborhood, steps into floodwaters generated by king tides at Marina Delray, along the Intracoastal Waterway. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star
King tides expected to rise Nov. 14, 15 and 16 to near October levels By Cheryl Blackerby South Florida got two worrisome weather alarms in October: a warning in advance of Hurricane Matthew and, two weeks later, a National Weather Service coastal flood advisory for king tides. Coastal residents usually don’t pay as much attention to king tides as they do to dramatic TV graphics tracking hurricanes across the Atlantic, although high tides can cause tremendous damage on the coast. But king tides are starting to get their due. Alarmed by flooded streets on clear days
and waves that wash over docks and seawalls, coastal residents have become increasingly familiar with the phenomenon of king tides, the name for the highest tides of the year, which occur in the fall. Flood advisories, issued to coastal community officials and residents, have been given in the last few years by the National Weather Service because of increasing problems with street flooding, sometimes as high as one or two feet. The king tides, a five- to seven-day event that happens at the full and new moons in See TIDES on page 21
Inside Place of gratitude
One woman’s dedication energizes Boynton’s Community Caring Center. Page H1
Nature’s shell game
Native visions
Flagler Museum hosts exhibition of images by Edward Curtis. Page AT9
A look at the beautiful treasures of the beaches. Page AT1
House of the Month A Boca Raton Intracoastal jewel. Page H23